Lanka gets thumbs-up on Human Rights

Chamikara WEERASINGHE

* Favourable responses from UN member countries

* Sharp increase in foreign investment expected once UPR is over

Sri Lanka's Human Rights record has been described by member countries of the UN as having reached an "ideal" position to be identified with international Rights standards, representative of Sri Lanka to the UN, former Attorney General Mohan Peiris said yesterday.

He said only a very few countries have reached this level in terms of Human Rights development in recent times.

Peiris said during meetings held on the sidelines of the recently concluded 21st United Nations Human Rights Council meeting in Geneva, Western countries praised Sri Lanka's Human Rights performance.

"They said Sri Lanka is well on the road to reaching international Human Rights standards with the the rapid progress it made in achieving Human Rights goals."

Asked if this progress could have a positive effect on the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) on Sri Lanka by the UN Human Rights Commission, Peiris said they have been getting favourable responses from UN member countries since the country's National Report on Human Rights was sent to the UN Human Rights Council.

"Many countries, especially those of Europe have told and communicated to us that they will support Sri Lanka on a large scale with the country's restored peace, law and order and Human Rights conditions," he said.

"We expect that there will be some sharp increase in foreign investments once the UPR is over," he said.

The Human Rights Council's Universal Periodic Review on Sri Lanka will be held next month. It will be supervised by the troika, Benin, India and Spain, tasked to conduct the process.

Peiris said they are preparing to participate in the UPR.

"We are going to present our progress made in the fields of resettlement of Internally Displaced Persons, reduction of war detainees, process of demining, housing programmes for those affected by the war, dissemination of information technology and English education in the North, the implementation of the government's trilingual policy and also the National Action Plan on Human Rights," he said.

'The Council will be briefed on the restoration of civil administration in the North and East in particular, how that elections have been held peacefully in these provinces among other things," Peiris said.

He said it is likely that UN Human Rights High Commissioner Navaneetham Pillay will pay her promised visit to Sri Lanka after Sri Lanka has been reviewed at the UPR in November.